Can lifter and holder.



W. C. KING & R. P. STEVENS.

CAN LIFTER AND HOLDER. APPLICATION FILED AUG.I5. 1911.

Patented Mar. 26, 1918.

arr!" TED STATES ATEN *oEEroE.

WARREN 0. KING AND REUBEN P. STEVENS, OF EAST SAN PEDRO, CALIFORNIA.

can LIFTER AND HOLDER.

Specification of Letters Patent;

Patented Mari26,191s;

Application filed August 15, 1917. Serial No. 186,324.

To all whom it may concern:

'Be it known that we, l/VARREN C.Kmeand .REUBEN P. STEVENS, citizens of the United :States, residing at East San'Pedro, in the county of Los Angeles and State of California, have invented new and useful Improvements in Can Lifters and Holders, of

i l which the following is a specification.

Our object is to provide a simple device by whlch an operator may lift a certain numberof unlformcans at each operation without danger of marring or dropping any of the cans.

Flgure 1 1s a side elevation showing my can lifter in position for use and in engagement and ready to 'lift a series of'cans. Fig. 2 is an enlarged vertical cross-section .On the line 22 of Fig. 1.

F ig. 3 is an enlarged cross-sectional detail on the line 3-3 of Fig. 1.

. Pairs of tongs 1 and 2 are connected by parallel can lifting jaws 3 and 4, the jaws being secured to the tips of the tong levers 1 by rivets 5 and extending at right angles to the levers,and the tongs being spaced a suitable distance apart so that an operator may grasp one pair in one hand and the other pair in the other hand. Each pair of tongs I comprises the crossed levers 6 and? con .nected by a pivot 8, the handles 9 and 10 i being substantially parallel and the tips 11 and 12 being substantially parallel and there being an expansioncoil spring 13 inserted be- I tween the handles 9 and 10 near the pivot 8 and held in place by studs 1 1 and 15 rigidly fixed through the handles and extending into the sprlng.

g popiel of this patent may be obtained for The springs serve to hold the jaws 3 and if j 4; normally apart. 40

Flat-head rivets or screws are inserted through the jaws 3 and dfrom the inside and fixed in the jaws with the heads projecting inwardly to form fingers 16 for engaging the cans, there being one finger for each end of each can.

The can lifter is constructed especially for the size and style of can upon which it is to be used, and usually the cans 17 will roll down a chute upon a table 18 against a stop 19 and then the can lifter may be employed to lift a load of cans from the table and stop. Then another series of cans will take the place of those removed, and by keeping count of the operations, the number of cans handled may be computed. Preferably, the lifter will be made to handle six, or ten, or twelve cans at an opera tion. The cans roll upon the table in a horizontal position, the tongsl and? are grasped by the operator, the handles being normally separated to expand the j aws, and the jaws are placed in position against opposite ends of the cans, and the handles 9 and 10 manually operated and pressed toward each other against the tension of the springs to bring th'z's ac 1 e j LW 3 ml 4 toward eacl other gainst the ends of the cans. The fingers 16 will. engage the depressed heads of the cans and slide upwardlyvuntil the outwardly extending rims are encountered. The smooth flat heads of the fingers will not mar the cans and there will be no possibility of the cans falling from between the jaws. We claim:

A can lifter comprising two pairs of tongs; each pair of tongs consisting of crossed levers pivotally connected together and form WARREN o. KING. REUBEN P. STEVENS.

five cents each, by addressing thercomm issioner of Patents, Washington, D. 0. 

